Itsumo
by Ikitsumi
Summary: Roark and Riley's childhood, through their teenage years, and to their adulthood. Check my page for details and status!
1. Chapter 1: Double Battle

**A/N: Yes, I rewrote this. I needed to find a way to make this chapter longer, so I added a battle scene to make it lengthy and to give Roark and Riley some time to shine.**

**Reviews are welcome, but flames aren't and everytime you flame, a puppy dies. D: So don't flame!

* * *

**"So...what can I do? I'm trying to get Roark to train his Pokemon well...but he's so...reluctant." The brown-haired man turned to the man sitting next to him. "Even the school said he's not doing so well...I don't know what caused him to suddenly drop like this," he added, watching his coffee cup.

The Oreburgh Gym Leader's eyes looked a bit more downcast than usual, but it was due to the stress imposed upon him that caused his weariness. For the past few months, there'd been something wrong, just something he couldn't pinpoint, in the behavior of his 8-year old son.

Somewhat luckily for Byron, the Jubilife Pokemon Center always provided a great meal in case he was running late picking Roark up from the school. Nurse Joy came and refilled the coffee cups, her red hair bobbing as she bowed slightly to the two Gym Leaders at the table.

Crasher Wake shut his eyes and crossed his arms. "You know, Byron...It's not good to force it upon him. Children are often stubborn when their parents make them do things," he told the other Gym Leader, opening an eye to look at Byron.

"So then what can I do? His mother and I are expecting him to be a great Gym Leader someday," The other man sighed. "Something's up with him, but I just can't figure out what's wrong..." Byron said, running a hand through his hair.

It wasn't like him to be so worn out, and this bothered Wake. "Couldn't you try letting someone else influence him?" The masked Water Gym Leader suggested with a shrug, taking a drink of his own coffee along with a steaming cinnamon roll that the Pokemon nurse came to drop by for them.

"I've already tried introducing him to some kids of my friends. All of them have great pride in becoming Gym Leaders someday," Byron replied dully. "For some reason, he doesn't feel so competent compared to them," he told Wake, blowing lightly on his drink and sipping it.

"It's likely the pressure of being surrounded by what he wants to be. Maybe he sees them as competition?" Wake asked, raising an eyebrow and biting into the roll.

Byron looked at Wake with a frown. "Roark's not a wild animal, for one, and also, you're not a psychologist," he told him flatly, setting the cup down on the table.

"But what I'm saying is that he needs a friend that isn't as intent on becoming a Gym Leader," Wake replied back, not really bothering to cover his mouth as small bits of cinnamon roll flew out. "He's being pressured because he thinks others will beat him. Things like his battling might seem inferior to others, and that because he won't be doing so well, he knows he won't be doing well enough to be seen as worthy of inheriting your Gym."

Byron cast his eyes downwards, then sighed and handed Wake a napkin. "Really, I thought you had better manners..." he rolled his eyes, looking at his glove. "So what should I do?" Byron asked, watching as a boy rushed into the building clutching a fainted Bidoof.

Wake smiled at Byron as an idea came to mind. "There's an orphanage in Hearthome City, Byron. I'm sure that there'd be someone suitable there, find someone who can encourage him to battle hard. Oh, and while you're in Hearthome if you go..." he added, then cut off. "Ask Fantina about the orphanage, because she visits frequently," he said, his words flowing a little too quickly for any hints to pass on by.

"Wait, the Ghost-using, foreign, Contest-loving Gym Leader?" Byron asked in surprise, then looked at Wake again, studying his face for a few seconds. The fossil-obsessed man grinned and laughed. "I can read your face like a book right now, Wake!"

Wake blushed, glaring at Byron for a few seconds. "You caught on that quickly...?" He asked weakly after a few seconds of trying to intimidate his friend, his head dropping in embarrassment. "Even my Pokemon can tell these things..." he added in an embarrassed voice.

"Too obvious," Byron pointed out with a smirk, then jumped as a beeping noise was heard and checked his watch. "I'd better go pick up Roark now. I told him that I'd take him to Eterna City so Dad can accompany us on a trip to the Underground," he said to Wake, standing up and stretching. "I have to find an anniversary gift too," he added to the water specialist, his eyes widening as he remembered.

"Ooh, then you'd better pick something good," Wake commented, now able to grin back at Byron as he looked outside the window. He stood up as well. "I'll be seeing you around, Byron," he said, clapping him on the back on the way out of the Pokemon Center.

Byron followed the Pastoria Gym Leader outside and headed westwards instead of north where his friend was going. Byron hummed lightly along the way to the Trainer's School. His anniversary was coming up and he had to decide on a present for Lena. His hair ruffled impatiently as he blew at his bangs.

"Eh, I'd best stop by Veilstone later..." he thought. Byron stopped and sat down on a bench to think about what to get for his wife. A few minutes later, he smiled as an idea came to mind. He'd have to consult her first on the matter, however. "I wonder how Roarkie is doing right now?" He asked himself.

~::~::~::~::~.ヒョウタ. .x. .ゲン.~::~::~::~::~::~

"Alright class, today we're finally going to get the the final stage of Double Battles; the battles themselves," Mrs. Yuka announced to the students in the room, causing a loud cheer to erupt. "I've come up with randomized Poke Balls, all containing low-leveled Pokemon so that they may listen to you. I've made a list of who the partners are at the board, so take a look before retrieving a Poke Ball," she told the group, glancing to one of the boys.

His eyes were usually half-open because he was half-asleep.

"Awesome! I can't wait to tell Dad about this!" One of the boys thought excitedly. This boy had brick-colored hair that flared and spiked slightly at the ends, the top part of his head concealed by a too-large, red hard hat with a flashlight in the middle of the front part of it. His matching wide eyes were hidden by large round glasses that glinted in the school's lights. A salmon-colored cape covered his back and shoulders; an imitation of the cape his father wore. Beneath was a black T-shirt, grey canvas pants with large pockets holding a yellow stripe, the bottoms tucked into a pair of gumboots; another imitation.

He bounded to the board and scanned for his name. He found it with a smile, then looked to his partner's name. "Riley? Hey...who is Riley?" He asked himself out loud, then jumped as someone prodded his arm lightly. "Ehhh, don't scare me like that!" He exclaimed, turning around to see who surprised him.

The boy in front of was clutching a dark blue egg with a strange V-shaped black stripe going across it, along with a pattern of yellow ovals running along the bottom length of it. He had black hair that spiked slightly but prominently in the back, almost like a lion's mane. He had blue eyes, as far as the surprised boy could tell, but with half his face hidden by his long bangs, it was hard to say. He wore a long-sleeved black shirt and navy blue slacks that seemed slightly too baggy for him, covering the heels of his black shoes. He also wore a gold necklace with a strange "M" pattern that seemed too flashy to be wearing in school, but it seemed precious to the boy.

"You are Roark, aren't you?" The boy asked timidly, holding the egg more closely as if for reassurement. The boy's eyes had a shy expression in them, as if he wasn't a social person at all.

"That's me!" Roark exclaimed, making Riley jump a bit. "So you're Riley, right? I think this is the first time we've seen each other in class! So, ready to battle with me?" The enthusiastic red-head asked.

"Sure," Riley smiled nervously, still a bit shaken from Roark's enthusiasm. "Let's go pick our Pokemon," he told Roark, much to the happiness of the Oreburgh Gym Leader's son.

"I'll pick...this one," Roark said happily. "I think that this one will do really well for me," he smiled, then turned to Riley, looking at the boy in confusion. "Why are your eyes closed?" He asked Riley, cocking his head.

Riley's hand hovered above each Poke Ball, then finally stopped on one. "I'll pick this one," he announced, then opened his eyes and looked at Roark.

"Trying a random guess?" Roark laughed, then he led Riley to the practice field outside. "Come out!" He exclaimed, tossing the Poke Ball in the air. Out of the ball emerged a Cranidos, and it turned to Roark and squealed. "Cool!" Roark exclaimed. "A Cranidos! And it's a fossil Pokemon too!" Roark couldn't help but shake in excitement.

Riley unleashed his Pokemon, smiling as he knew what it was. "Rio!" The bipedal dog cried, then walked to Riley. "Hi Riolu," He said, holding out the egg carefully to the school's Riolu. The Pokemon's eyes grew wide, then it smiled and hugged the egg, making Riley chuckle. "Yeah, you know there's another Riolu there," he said softly.

"Awesome, we got good Pokemon!" Roark told Riley, smiling widely.

"Team 3! Your battle against Team 5 is waiting!" An outside speaker blared, causing everyone to jump.

"That's us! We should hurry," Riley told Roark, grabbing the egg and running in the direction of the battlefield. Roark followed him quickly, running alongside Cranidos.

"And now the students! Team 3 consists of Roark with Cranidos and Riley with Riolu!" Another teacher, Mr. Meuda, announced. "Team 7 consists of Lisa with Abra and Gardenia with Budew!"

"So we meet again Roark!" Gardenia yelled at him, a confident smile on her face. "This is just Gym Leader training for us, agreed?" She asked.

Roark grinned. "Of course! No way I'd give up a chance of being Oreburgh's Gym Leader when Dad lets me take over the Gym!" He called back.

"And I won't lost my chance at being Eterna City's Gym Leader from Mom!" Gardenia exclaimed, standing proudly as Budew took its place on the field.

"We're at a type disadvantage," Riley whispered to Roark worriedly, then blinked as Roark looked back to him with a smile.

"That doesn't matter right now. Just because of those obstacles doesn't mean there's no way to win this," he replied, turning to the field. Cranidos and Riolu stood side by side, facing a sleeping Abra and Budew.

"Battle begin!" Mr. Meuda shouted.

"Abra! Hidden Power!" Lisa exclaimed, and Abra summoned several glowing multicolored orbs, sending them towards Riolu.

"Dodge it!" Riley exclaimed. "If you get hit, Endure!" He told the walking blue dog. "Use Quick Attack!" He shouted, and Riolu ran towards Budew.

"Nice! Now Cranidos, use Pursuit on Abra! Rely on your speed!" Roark exclaimed, definitely pumped up for this battle.

"Teleport!" Lisa commanded, then her eyes widened. Riolu caught up to Abra and slammed into it, followed by Cranidos' Pursuit.

"Abra is unable to battle!" Mr. Meuda announced.

"Awesome! Now, let's show Gardenia that speed again! Headbutt!" Roark commanded with a triumphant grin.

"Budew, Stun Spore!" Gardenia cried, and the little green bud let loose a yellow pollen that stopped Cranidos.

"No! Riolu, Quick Attack once those spores fade!" Riley exclaimed, watching as Riolu ran to Budew, then stopped.

"Budew, Absorb!" The girl told her Budew, who stopped spraying spores and began drawing energy from the paralyzed Cranidos.

"Cranidos, Focus Energy!" Roark yelled as Riolu sped towards Budew.

"Evade!" Gardenia told Budew, who dodged the Quick Attack and left Riolu to head back.

"Roark, what do we do?" Riley asked, then looked to Riolu. "That Budew is too quick, and Riolu can't activate Steadfast..." he muttered.

"Steadfast?" Roark asked, turning to Riley.

"It's a special ability of Riolu. If it flinches, its Speed increases. But how can Riolu flinch...Headbutt!" Riley exclaimed. "You have to tell Cranidos to use Headbutt on Riolu!" He told Roark.

"What?" Roark asked in surprise. "If it works," he added. "Cranidos, direct Headbutt towards Riolu!"

The dinosaur looked confused, but did so, charging at Riolu insted of Budew.

"I think you're forgetting who you're battling!" Gardenia laughed.

"Riolu, it's OK, just take the Headbutts," Riley assured Riolu.

"Make this one count!" Roark exclaimed.

Cranidos slammed its blue head into Riolu, who fell over and caused a gasp in the crowd.

"Riolu!" Riley yelled.

The dog sat there for a minute, then jumped up and rushed towards Budew using a much faster Quick Attack. A smile spread on Riley's face. "It worked!" He yelled. "Quick Attack and then Force Palm!" He shouted.

"Stun Spore!" Gardenia shouted, but Riolu was much too fast now. The green bud got slammed headfirst and flew into the air.

Riolu grabbed Budew from the air, its paws glowing. All of a sudden, energy erupted from Riolu's hands and surrounded Budew.

"Oh no! Budew!" Gardenia cried.

"Let's finish it Cranidos!" Use Headbutt!" Roark yelled, a triumphant smile on his face.

Cranidos charged towards the weakened Budew, then slammed its hard blue head into the little bud Pokemon, knocking it out.

"Budew, unable to battle! Team 3 wins!" Mr. Meuda shouted, causing a wave of eruption in the students.

"An impressive battle!" Mrs. Yuka exclaimed. "That's what teamwork is about there! And the way that two Gym Leaders-in-training battled is stunning!"

"We did it!" Roark exclaimed, his smile much more pronounced as he looked at Riley, then frowned. "What's wrong?" He asked the black-haired boy.

"...Get inside," Riley muttered, picking his egg up and holding it protectively.

"What?" Roark asked, really confused.

"I SAID GET INSIDE!" Riley screamed, then handed the egg to Roark and stepped in front of the young Gym Leader as if shielding him.

"What's going on-AAAH!" Gardenia shrieked, pointing in the direction Riley was facing.

A blue sphere was heading directly towards the two boys, and Riley took a defensive stance, holding his hands out in front of him as if to catch the sphere.

"Riley, that's an Aura Sphere!" Mr. Meuda shouted as the blue aura approached.

"Riley, what are you doing?" Roark shouted, then his eyes froze as Riley caught the sphere with his palms and pushed it back in the direction it came from.

Riley panted, falling to his knees. "That one was too powerful...I can't take another one...Riolu! I need your help here!" He shouted, and Riolu stood by his side. "You know what I need," he muttered, and Riolu placed its palms on Riley's arm, the blue energy flowing from Pokemon to human.

"Riley, you're an...Aura user?" Mrs. Yuka shouted, staring at the boy.

"Riolu, be prepared. I think another fight is coming up," Riley said, then turned to Roark. "Get inside and protect the egg," he told the young red-head sternly, using a much different tone from earlier.

"I'll give it to Mr. Meuda! He'll watch it!" Roark exclaimed, heading inside in a mad dash.

Riley turned back to the battlefield, where a Lucario stood. "So it's you after all, isn't it?" Riley growled. "I was warned you might escape," he told the evolved form of Riolu. Riley's rental Riolu glared at Lucario, who took a fighting stance. "If that's what it takes," Riley hissed.

"I have to go help him!" Roark squealed, trying to break free of Mrs. Yuka's hold. "Let me go, Mrs. Yuka! He said he was tired already and he needs help!"

"It's too dangerous now!" Mr. Meuda snapped at Roark, causing the young boy to flinch.

"Cranidos, use Headbutt but not too strong!" Roark cried out of desperation.

Mrs. Yuka shrieked as she narrowly avoided Cranidos' large head, but the attack caused her to lose her grip of Roark. "Roark, get back here or I'll tell Leader Byron!" She yelled, but Roark paid no heed.

Lucario let loose another Aura Sphere, aiming it at the building.

"No! Cranidos, intercept with Headbutt!" Roark shouted, and Cranidos ran to ram into the sphere. However, the blue sphere was much too strong for Cranidos to handle.

"Riolu, block any attack and use Endure!" Riley shouted.

A copper-tinted shield flew up around Riolu, who prepared to block any more Aura Spheres.

Lucario responded with a sudden burst of speed that caught both boys off guard, then punched Riolu, the energy seemingly being sapped away from the poor dog.

"Riley, get Riolu away! That's a Drain Punch!" Roark shouted, picking Cranidos up.

"Riolu, get out of there!" Riley shouted, which Riolu did. The effort left the little blue dog panting for its lost energy.

"Roark, what do we do? That Lucario's too strong," Riley asked Roark, his eyes desperate. He couldn't tell Roark the real reason the Lucario was here, but if it came to it...

"That Lucario's after my egg! That's why I needed you to protect it!" Riley told Roark, then turned to Riolu. "Return!" He shouted, calling Riolu back into its Poke Ball.

"Cranidos, you too," Roark muttered, recalling the knocked-out Pokemon. "I'm sorry..." he whispered to the Pokemon inside his hand.

"We need to get inside! We need to tell Mr. Meuda to call my mother, she knows what to do!" Riley shouted, dragging Roark back inside and slamming the door shut.

"Why your mom?" Roark asked in surprise.

"Because she owns a Lucario too! That's how I got this egg," Riley told Roark, who responded "Oh."

Riley dashed for the phone and dialed a number, but was too late as the door blasted open, a large chunk headed straight for Riley.

"No!" Roark shouted, running in the way and getting slammed before anyone could do anything about his reckless move.

"ROARK!" Riley screamed, running to the stunned boy. "Get up, get up," Riley pleaded, tugging on Roark's arm.

Roark stirred, but was still unconscious. "Floorboards..." he muttered.

"What?" Riley asked, confused by Roark's word.

"Floorboards...you and egg...hide underneath...Yuka's desk..." Roark muttered.

"I can't leave you like this!" Riley shouted, then narrowly avoided another Aura Sphere. "You'd better be safe," he whispered, then ran to Mr. Meuda and plucked the egg from his arms and went behind Mrs. Yuka's desk, pulling up a few floorboards and sliding into a nicely-dug out room.

~::~::~::~::~.ヒョウタ. .x. .ゲン.~::~::~::~::~::~

"What the...?" Byron stood up as he heard loud crashes coming from the direction of the school building, heading there quickly. His face fell as he saw a crowd gathered around the entrance. "Is there something I missed today?" He asked himself, then prodded a nearby bystander on the shoulder. "What's going on?" He asked the woman.

She looked to him pleadingly. "You're the Oreburgh Gym Leader, right? There's a Pokemon in there going wild, and it's been chasing students!" She cried. "Your son is already unconscious!" She yelled.

* * *

**What could be going on here? Yay...for cliffhanger in the first chapter?**


	2. Chapter 2: Mother

"What?" Byron bellowed, then shoved his way through the crowd and into the school building. He looked around in disbelief as the usually well-kept school building was ruined. He saw a crowd of students and teachers on one side of the room, but didn't see his son amongst them. "Roark?" He yelled.

"Over in the other room!" Gardenia yelled, looking at him pleadingly.

"Roark!" Byron called again, running into the other room where Riley was hidden and Roark still unconscious.

The 8-year old boy had tears streaming down his face. "You can't...take..." he growled, struggling to stand up after a few seconds and falling back down.

"Roark!" Byron exclaimed in shock, then started running to his son. "What happened to you?" He growled, then glanced to his right and jumped out of the way as a blue sphere nearly slammed into his head. He ducked as another one came whizzing by him, barely missing his hair.

"Shieldon! Flamethrower!" He commanded, calling a small protoceratop-like yellow and black Pokemon from its Pokeball. Shieldon let out a burst of orange flame towards the attacking Pokemon, coming into direct contact with the Pokemon. "Block the attacks!" Byron commanded as more blue spheres came from the flame towards Shieldon. "Intercept with a Headbutt!" He told Shieldon, running towards Roark.

A growl came from Lucario, and it came rushing out towards Shieldon with one of its arms extended, the paw glowing blue like the spheres.

Shieldon pushed against the sudden impact, struggling to fend off the Pokemon.

"Roark! Wake up!" Byron pleaded, shaking the boy after picking him up. He grabbed a quick energy shot from his pocket, wondering if it was OK to give to an 8-year old, then made Roark drink it.

The boy opened his eyes a little bit. "L-Lucario..." He mumbled, finally able to stand on his own. He swayed in the spot for a second, then stood up straighter.

A cry from the other end of the room caught Roark's attention. "Shieldon!" He yelled, clinging to Byron's leg. "Dad, my Cranidos isn't able to fight, and Riolu's not strong either!" He exclaimed.

Shieldon was knocked unconscious from the Force Palm. The Lucario stepped forward out of the smoke, growling at Roark and stepping over Shieldon.

"Tch! Return!" Byron called Shieldon back. "That's an insanely powerful Lucario then...Shieldon doesn't go down so easily," Byron thought, then looked at a strange dark blue collar around its neck that blended in so well with its black neck.

"Onix! Screech!" He yelled, calling out the giant rock snake. Onix obeyed and let out an ear-piercing cry that knocked Lucario down in agony. "Keep going!" He commanded, which Onix did.

Lucario let out a loud snarl, ripping the collar off from its neck and jumping out of the closest window with it. Onix slammed its tail at Lucario, but not in time.

"Onix, let it go...we'll handle it if it comes back," Byron hissed, calling Onix back.

"Roark?" He asked, turning around to find Roark pulling a few floorboards up. "What're you doing?" He asked, running to Roark.

"Riley? Hey, Riley?" The boy called, then stuck his arm down into the large concealed area behind Mrs. Yuka's desk. He shut his eyes and tugged as hard as he could, pulling out the black-haired boy clutching his Pokemon egg.

"Roark, Is it gone? Will it leave the egg alone now?" The boy asked, shutting his eyes to the sudden bright light.

Roark took the egg gently into his arms, hugging it a little bit. "The Lucario left, Riley. The egg is safe," Roark assured the boy, giving him back the egg once Riley could open his eyes again. "Riley, come on...everyone's worried," he said with a soft smile, staggering a little bit as he took a few steps forward.

"Oi, Roark!" Byron yelled, then lifted Roark to sit on the back of his neck. "You'd better explain everything to everyone, Roark, and that includes your mother," he muttered as they exited the ruined classroom.

~::~::~::~::~.ヒョウタ. .x. .ゲン.~::~::~::~::~::~

"But where'd that Lucario come from?" Mr. Meuda demanded, fuming as he sat with his arms crossed. "That thing knocked a student unconscious and did damage to our battlefield and one classroom," he steamed.

"Calm down, Meuda," Mrs. Yuka told him, handing him some tea. "Now, we need to discuss anything unusual about that Lucario, because they're not easily provoked," she told the assembly of adults. All the children were in the other classroom with the exception of Riley and Roark, who were sleeping in the room with them.

"Tough enough to take down my Shieldon," Byron spat, clenching the Poke Ball that held Shieldon. "As far as I know, it hadn't taken much damage at all...until it ripped off that weird collar," he muttered, getting the attention of everyone in the room.

"A collar? I didn't see one," Mrs. Yuka told him.

"It blended in pretty well with its neck. But I had Onix use Screech and it became so agonized that it tore it off, and it looked momentarily confused and then fled rather than continue the battle," Byron told her.

"I know that collar," a small voice spoke up.

Everyone turned to look at the awakened Riley. "It's a special shock collar. My mom knows about these collars since she works in a lab, but they were testing them out on some Pokemon and apparently that Lucario's an escapee," he muttered.

"A shock collar?" Mrs. Yuka gasped.

"That would explain why it avoided trying to be hurt at all cost," Byron added.

"Mom hasn't been home for awhile, but I have gotten occassional emails and phone calls from her," Riley said. "I need to let her know that the Lucario was last seen here in Jubilife," he muttered.

"What was the motive of it though? Why did it target Riley, then the school building?" Mr. Meuda asked, crossing his arms again.

"It was after my egg," Riley told them, causing stares.

"The egg? It's a Riolu egg," Mr. Meuda observed, then blinked. "Why would a Lucario in a lab experiment come after an egg?" He wondered out loud.

"Beats me," the other two adults shrugged.

Riley turned to look at Roark, who was still sleeping. He sighed. "I didn't mean for him to get in the way, Leader..." he told Byron quietly, trying to stop tears from forming. "I was trying to make a phone call, but the Lucario blasted the door open and a big piece was headed straight for me...I didn't know that Roark would jump in the way," he continued.

"Not your fault, kid. I'll deal with it later on...at least, his mother will," Byron shuddered at the thought.

"Riley? Can I ask you something?" Mrs. Yuka asked Riley, looking at him.

"Yes, Mrs. Yuka?" Riley replied, holding his egg tighter.

"Do you think the Lucario targeted you because you're an Aura user?" She asked him.

The room fell silent except for Roark taking deep breaths.

"I was able to block off an Aura Sphere...it must have thought that I wanted to battle because I did that," Riley said after a minute of thinking, looking down at his egg again.

"I guess being an Aura user explains how you picked Riolu from all the rental Pokemon," Mr. Meuda sighed. "Technically, I can't call it cheating, since you weren't aware of the opponent's Pokemon as well," he told Riley. "You both did excellent on your Double Battle today though," he remarked.

Riley looked down sheepishly. "Roark did say that type advantages were an obstacle we could overcome. I mean, a Rock type and a Fighting type against a Grass type and a Psychic type...somehow he made me believe we could win that," Riley smiled, his face flushing.

"Aah, so that's what Roarkie was saying about a Cranidos. I'm proud of him, and I'm relieved to hear that he's into battling again...wait, he's into battling again?" Byron shouted, sitting up straight.

"Yep, it was a battle against Gardenia. You know, Momo's daughter," Mrs. Yuka smiled. "That was a truly impressive battle, and it seemed totally one-sided since that Quick Attack-Pursuit combo took out Abra," she added.

"Thanks.." Riley muttered, blushing.

"Anyways, we'd better let the police finish up around here and tell them what we know," Byron announced, standing up and stretching. "After Roarkie here finishes sleeping, we were planning on making a trip to Eterna City. He was so excited about his grandpa taking us to the Underground for fossil digging," he smiled.

"No wonder Roark was so excited over Cranidos," Mr. Meuda commented. "He really takes after you, doesn't he?" The teacher laughed.

"That's my son," Byron smiled, then looked down at Roark. "I guess I can hang around town a bit," he said, pulling out a Poke Ball and releasing a Staraptor from it. "Come find me when Roark wakes up," he told the giant bird, then exited the room.

"Wonder what's up with him?" Mrs. Yuka asked, then a woman entered the room.

"It's just that he's in a rush for an anniversary gift for Lena is all," she laughed, sitting down where Byron was sitting a minute ago.

"Good afternoon, Leader," the teachers greeted Momo, who smiled back bashfully. "What's this I heard about an assault?" She asked, and everyone except Riley relayed the story to her.

Roark opened his eyes and stretched. "Owowow..." he muttered, clutching his shoulder.

"Roark, it's still hurt from that impact with the flying door! Be careful," he said, standing up and watching Roark carefully.

Staraptor went to Roark and nuzzled against his arm lightly. Roark opened his eyes and looked at Staraptor. "Hey buddy," he smiled. "Dad wanted you to get him once I'm awake, right?" He asked and got a nod in return. "You can go get him now," he told the bird, who hopped to the window and took off flying.

"Riley, you said your parents weren't home right? How have you been getting to school?" Mrs. Yuka asked, and everyone looked at him.

"She sends the money needed to pay the rent and for the other expenses," Riley muttered. "I live in the topmost apartment building close to the Pokemon Center," he told them.

"It's not legal for her to leave you actually living alone, Riley. You need a guardian who's there all the time," Mr. Meuda told the aura user.

"I know..." Riley sighed.

"Then why don't you go live with a friend or something?" Roark asked, then smiled. "Like me?" He added happily.

Everyone turned to look at Roark. "Would your dad actually be OK with that?" Momo wondered out loud, then Roark's face fell. "I don't know..." Roark smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "But I'm one of Riley's friends, aren't I?" He asked Riley, who jumped and nodded. "My only friend, actually..." Riley thought.

"I'm back," Byron called, entering the room. "Good to see you're awake, Roarkie!" He said, running to his son and ruffling his hair.

"Dad," Roark whined, trying to push Byron's hands away from the hair, making Riley laugh.

"Oh, Leader Byron...we have an issue at hand..." Momo told Byron, who looked to her. "Good to see you, Momo," Byron nodded, then looked at everyone.

"Well, Riley's living here in Jubilife City, but apparently without a guardian around, which, as you know, is illegal," Mr. Meuda started slowly.

"Yeah," Byron nodded.

"And we don't know anyone who could actually be willing to take him in, especially if his mother's not around all the time," Mrs. Yuka continued.

Byron sighed. "We'd have to talk to his mom about that, and even I don't know how Lena would react," he told everyone.

"Since the police are around, they'll want to talk to Riley, obviously, but it'd be bad if they found out about the situation," Momo told Byron. "Please talk to Lena about this," she said to him.

"Yeah," Byron nodded, then picked up Roark. "Time to go," he said, setting him on Staraptor's back.

"Riley, stay with your teachers until we come for you. We'll be back soon," Byron told the young aura user, then went outside and also climbed on top of Staraptor.

~::~::~::~::~

"So...they want us to keep him for now? But what about his mother?" Lena asked Byron, frowning. "I'm perfectly fine with it if his mother consents to it. I can't admit that what she's doing is right, but he still needs a family around," she told Byron, sighing.

"We'll tell the kid to call his mom and then see what can happen," Byron assured her, kissing her forehead lightly and brushing her bright red hair from her face.

"Roark, you go to sleep and let your shoulder heal, I'm going back to Jubilife," he called to his son, who was asleep in his bedroom.

"Don't wake him," Lena laughed, wrapping her arms around him.

"Alright, alright...I'll be home in time for dinner, so don't worry," he assured her with a smile, then walked outside and climbed onto Staraptor's back for the trip back to Jubilife City.

~::~::~::~::~

"Mom?" Riley asked into the phone. "The Lucario came to Jubilife City...it nearly wrecked our school," he spoke.

"Do you have any idea where it went?" She replied.

"It was headed towards Canalave City," he told her. "Mom, the police are interrogating everyone. If they find out that I live by myself, I could be taken away from you. Mom, can I please stay at a friend's house until you come back home?" He asked her.

The voice on the other line sighed. "For now, Riley. But you have to visit me in Hearthome so I can complete this little exchange. There's no way I'm giving you up for adoption, but I don't need to get in trouble with the police right now," she said bitterly, then paused. "Who are you planning on staying with?" She asked.

"Um...the Oreburgh Gym Leader's family," he told her.

"......very well," she said, then hung up.

"Wai--" Riley called, but it was too late. "I didn't even get to say bye..." he thought as he hung up, sighing dejectedly.

"What did she say?" Byron asked Riley, who turned to the Gym Leader.

"She said for now, as long as it can help avoid trouble with the police, but she wants me to go see her down in Hearthome City so that she can decide whether I can live with you permanently or not...she can't keep paying the rent forever, and she said her work's getting busier and busier everyday," he told Byron. "She said no adoption though, because she's not willing to give me up," he muttered.

"Alright, you can stay with us for awhile, Riley. My wife already said it's fine," he smiled.

"R-Really?" Riley stuttered, his face flushing as he held the egg closer.

"Of course, and you won't be a burden on us, I promise. I'll explain on the way back home," Byron told Riley.

"Phew, now everything's settled fine," Momo said happily, then yawned. "I think I'd better take Gardenia back home. I need to help her work on some strategies to beat that boy of yours," she said with a smile at Byron.

"Oh, I've been pushing Roark hard, and I don't think he'll give up anytime soon," Byron smiled back, then left the room with Riley after casting a wave behind him.

"So, Leader, what can I help with?" Riley asked as Byron pulled him onto Staraptor's back. He held onto the egg tighter until Byron handed him a bag. "T-Thanks.." he muttered, placing the egg in the bag.

Staraptor began flying. "You noticed how Roark battled today?" He asked the young black-haired boy, getting a nod back in return. "He hasn't been that excited about a battle for a month already, but I think that he sees you as a good training partner. If you don't mind, I'd like to see the battle spirit reborn in him, and I think you can help with that," Byron told him.

"Sure," Riley smiled, gazing down below at the lights of the city. "If it'll help him be happy, I'll be glad to help," he said with a red face and a smile, glad that Byron couldn't see the 9-year old's face.


	3. Chapter 3: Wake Up

"Nnn?" Roark mumbled, opening his eyes and stretching, the warm feeling spreading through his body. He sniffed the air lightly and smiled; there was food. He stood up and reached for his glasses on the dresser, then sat up in his bed. He blinked as a few bags laid by the couch in his room. "Hm...oh well..." he thought, then bounded down the stairs.

"Hello Roark," Riley muttered with a bashful smile. The egg was resting on a blanket that laid on a side table in the dining room.

"Riley! Cool, you get to stay with us!" Roark exclaimed, running to the boy and messing up his hair.

"Hey!" Riley laughed, fixing the spiky mess.

"Roark, if you have that much energy, maybe you don't want to eat dinner and get dessert afterwards," Lena wagged a finger at Roark, grinning.

"Fine Mom," Roark sighed, sitting down and humming.

"You look pretty happy," Byron commented, taking some of the food that Lena made. "Wow, the lasagna is really good," he told Lena with a smile, making her blush.

"But you didn't get to see us beat Gardenia!" Roark exclaimed, then looked at Riley. "You knew all of Riolu's moves, so that really helped!" He told the other boy.

"Usually our family ends up with a Togepi or a Riolu as a partner because of the Aura that runs in those families," Riley commented. "Riolu's the preferred choice, but my father raised a Togepi until it evolved into a Togekiss," he added.

"Cool," Roark said, eating some of the lasagna as well. "Dad likes Rock and Steel types a lot, but I prefer just the Rock types," Roark said happily.

"So that's why you were so overjoyed about the Cranidos," Riley smiled.

"Not only that, we both prefer Fossil Pokemon," Byron told Riley, who looked a bit confused. "Fossil Pokemon are ancient Pokemon who left fossils that the scientists at the Oreburgh Museum are able to revive. Cranidos and my Shieldon are some examples," he said to Riley, who nodded.

"Roark's been going on about getting his own Cranidos once his father and him go to Eterna City," Lena said, sitting down once she cleaned up the counter. "His grandfather is the 'Underground Man' there and promised to take Roark on a tour of the Underground so that he could find his own fossil," she finished, taking a sip of her water.

"So I guess you don't get to go too often there, do you?" Riley asked Roark, who shook his head.

"There are plenty of fossils around here though, so maybe you won't have to search the Underground itself," Byron told Roark.

"He's right. There's still the mine there, which is much closer and has much easier access than the Underground," Riley told Roark. "Other than that, Roark, you said that you like Rock types, right? The mine's perfect for training then because of the surroundings," he told the red-head.

"I'm still going to try," Roark told Byron with determination in his eyes, then turned to Riley. "Then once I get a Cranidos, we should go train there!"

Lena smiled a smile of relief and looked to Byron, who looked just the same.

"Sure. I have to wait for the egg to hatch though," Riley said, smiling at the blue egg on the opposite side of the room.

"Alright," Roark told him, then continued to eat.

"Riley, if you don't mind me asking, how are you planning to spend your future?" Byron asked Riley, wondering what the response was.

"Well...I thought about taking over the Iron Island Mine," Riley replied after a few seconds, chewing thoughtfully. "It was Dad's, after all," he said, "and I don't want to let it continue to be abandoned..." his voice trailed off, and he shrugged, continuing to eat.

"So you're Tetsu's kid," Byron remarked, causing Riley to choke on his food suddenly.

"Aah! Riley!" Roark exclaimed, thumping Riley's back so that Riley's airway could clear.

"Byron!" Lena exclaimed.

Riley sat up, his ears tearing. "Y-yeah, that's Dad," Riley gasped, catching his breath, then coughed and pounded on his own chest.

"Here," Roark said, handing Riley a glass of water. The black-haired boy gratefully accepted the glass and chugged it down, sighing as his throat was unblocked. He laid back, taking a deep breath.

"Who's Tetsu?" Roark asked, blinking in surprise as everyone at the table cast him a look that told him not to even ask.

"Erm...I guess I'd better not ask," Roark muttered, then began to eat again.

~::~::~::~::~.ヒョウタ. .x. .ゲン.~::~::~::~::~::~

"Bed!" Lena called up to the two boys.

"OK Mom!" Roark called back down, then went to stuff pillows under the door slit. "No way I'm going to bed yet!" Roark laughed to himself, then went to go sit by Riley, who was cradling the egg in his arms.

"Are you warming it up or something?" The brick-haired boy asked Riley, who looked up at him.

"I'm just hoping that the Riolu inside hears me," Riley said quietly, smiling as he laid his ear against the blue egg. "There's a faint tremor coming from it. I guess that means it's there," Riley smiled, then set the egg down on a blanket on top of Roark's nighttable.

"So what do you want to talk about? Oh, you said you live in Jubilife, right? But where did you live before that?" Roark asked Riley, curious to know about his new friend.

"I lived in Canalave City," Riley smiled. "It's a beautiful town. There are bridges connecting everything because ocean water surrounds most everything. There's also a lot of ships coming to and from there, mostly cargo from other regions, like Kanto and Johto," he told Roark. "My favorite place of all was Iron Island though. There's lots of fossils there from what I know, and there's so many Steel-type Pokemon there..." Riley smiled, gazing upwards.

"Of course I know about Iron Island, Riley! Dad takes me there every Saturday to play since he's busy digging fossils. Hey...You mentioned the mine there earlier. It's abandoned?" Roark asked him.

Riley fell silent, the smile fading from his face. "Yeah. Since Dad died because of an explosion there, they had to shut it down," Riley muttered, looking downwards.

"Uh...sorry..." Roark said, looking away pointedly.

Riley sighed. "It's fine. I know it's going to be hard for me to try and reopen the mine in the future, but I can't give up," he said, clenching a fist. "It's my inheritance after all, just like your inheritance is the Oreburgh Gym," Riley said, smiling at Roark with a glint in his eyes.

Roark grinned back, then went to go look at the egg. "Hi Riolu," he said, staring at the blue egg. He could have sworn that it twitched slightly.

"Roark! I know you stuffed pillows under that door! Now turn the lights out and go to bed!" Lena yelled.

Roark cringed. "Uh...OK Mom!" He called back, then sighed as he actually turned the lights out. He jumped as a blue glow came from behind him.

"It's just the aura," Riley chuckled, showing Roark the shimmering blue light.

"So is it some type of energy or something?" Roark asked, gazing at the swirling air.

"Eh, you could say that," Riley replied, then walked over to the bed and let the aura fade away. He blinked as he stared at Roark for a few seconds, then his face grew red. "S-Sorry, I forgot this was your bed!" Riley blushed more, then walked over to the couch.

"It's fine, really," Roark pointed out, stifling a laugh from seeing Riley react like that. "Come on, I don't have a problem with it. It's a big bed anyways," he said, then climbed onto the left side of the bed, removing his glasses and setting them down.

Riley blinked, then clambered onto the other side of the bed and pulled the covers up, momentarily confused as to the blushing that grew across his face. "Good night," he said, shutting his eyes.

"G'night," came the sleepy reply.

~::~::~::~::~.ヒョウタ. .x. .ゲン.~::~::~::~::~::~

"Daddy," Roark said in a sing-song voice.

No reply.

"Daddy," Roark said in the same voice, but slightly more annoyed.

"Mmf."

"DAD! Today's Saturday!" Roark yelled, whacking Byron across the head with a pillow and running away laughing.

"...Oh yeah, I forgot," Byron said, sitting up and stretching. He rubbed his head where Roark smacked him with the pillow and yawned, getting out of the bed.

"You seem excited," Riley smiled as he still laid in the bed, warm under the covers. "EEEHHH!!" He yelled as Roark yanked the covers off, exposing his body to cool air.

"Hey, that woke you up!" Roark laughed, then got attacked by Riley's pillow.

"That's what you get," Riley harrumphed, then paused. He smiled and threw another pillow at Roark, racing out of the room as the red-head chased him with both pillows in hand.

"Roark, if you want to go, best go take a shower," Lena told Roark as the two boys ran into the room.

"Huh? Oh, today is Saturday, isn't it?" Riley asked Roark with a smile. "So that means..." he told Roark, recoiling as he firsthand experienced the red-head's reaction.

"IRON ISLAND!" Roark cheered, yelling at the top of his lungs and dashing back into his room to grab a towel and some clothes.

"Riley, could you wait until Roark gets done to take a shower? He's just so impatient when it comes to this," Lena told him, a little embarrased.

"Sure, I can wait," Riley told Lena politely, smiling a little bit and wincing as he rubbed his ears. He went back to the room and prodded the egg lightly, sitting down on the ground in front of it. "Good morning, Riolu," he said with a kind look.

"How's it doing?" Asked a voice from the doorway.

Riley turned around. "Oh, good morning, Leader," Riley told Byron, then turned back to the egg. "It moves a little bit, so I know Riolu's alive in there," he replied, lifting the egg from the blanket. "It's warm," he smiled, holding it close to his cheek.

"Heh...yeah, sorry about Roark's acting like this, kid. He's always like this about Saturdays, so I'm wondering when he'll break of that habit?" Byron laughed, then turned around to go to the kitchen. "Breakfast should be ready when you finish cleaning," he said, tossing Riley a light blue towel.

Riley caught it and looked to Byron. "Thank you," he said.

"Riley, Riley, Riley, your turn, and hurry!" Roark's voice could be heard from the other side of the house.

"Roark, don't be rushing things!" Lena yelled to Roark.

Riley laughed to himself and stood up, wrapping the egg back up and carrying it with him to keep it safe in case Roark decided to run in and trip over the mess of clothes he made.

~::~::~::~::~.ヒョウタ. .x. .ゲン.~::~::~::~::~::~

"Just how I remember it..." Riley remarked as his blue eyes wandered over the sight of Canalave City.

"I've never actually been to the city itself; we've had Staraptor fly us straight to the island a lot," Roark commented, his red eyes bright as he took in the view as well.

"But you've seen this place a lot when you were much younger," Byron told Roark, putting a hand on his head.

"Really?" Roark asked, blinking. "Well, I do remember visiting the Gym here before...it shut down though, didn't it?" Roark asked him, not noticing the dark look on Riley's face.

Riley was silent, continuing to walk and ignore the conversation at hand. He forced himself not to let any ideas fall into his head; he made a promise.

Byron glanced to Riley quickly, then back to Roark, trying to keep his son's attention away from the other boy's face. "Yeah," he replied shortly, ignoring Roark's confused expression.

"So we're taking a ship to the island?" Riley finally asked Byron, letting go of the thoughts he had after the mention of the Canalave Gym.

"Yep," Byron said proudly, recieving an excited squeal from Roark. "So if we don't hurry, we'll miss it!" He exclaimed, running in the direction of the port.

"Hey! No fair cheating!" Roark yelled after him, waving his arms around wildly. "Come on Riley, we can't let him beat us!" He told the aura user, a determined look in his eyes.

"Got it," Riley replied with the same look, and both of them pelted after Byron with smiles on their faces, catching up to him once they reached the ship.


	4. Chapter 4: Iron Island

**I know this is short, please forgive meee! *gets shot***

* * *

"Let's go look around while Dad's busy digging," Roark snickered, watching as Byron's eyes gleamed at the sight of the island. He had to cover his face to stop laughing as his father pulled a shovel seemingly out of nowhere.

"OK," Riley replied, a mischevious look crossing his face as well. He dropped the bag he was carrying and put the Riolu egg in it, then closed it back up. "So where do we go?" Riley asked, looking at Roark.

"Let's go explore the mine," Roark said, his eyes glimmering behind his glasses. The boy loved exploring, no matter where. He especially loved cave exploring, and the Underground was just as good because of the idea of treasure.

"I'd rather not..." Riley said to Roark dully, putting the bag back on his back and reluctantly following Roark.

"Why not, Riley?" Roark asked him, then stopped. "Oh," he realized, then turned to look at Riley. "Um...what can we do then?" Roark asked, sitting down and thinking.

"We could go Underground!" Riley exclaimed.

"I was gonna go with Grandpa, but I guess an early trip wouldn't hurt!" Roark said, then stood up and brushed off his pants. "So..." he muttered, going to Byron's bag and rummaging around. "Ah-hah!" He said happily, pulling out a white hard hat, two pickaxes, two hammers, and a Poke Ball.

"What's the ball for?" Riley asked, then stood back as Onix came out. "Ah, I see," he responded.

"Onix, can you dig us to the Underground?" Roark asked, then handed Riley the hard hat and one of each of the tools.

Riley put it on his head, feeling a bit awkward as Roark looked at him. "Roark...that's making me nervous..." he said, turning away to conceal a blush.

"You put it on backwards!" Roark laughed. "Bend down a little so I can fix it, you're too tall," he told the black-haired boy, who obliged. Riley was taller by about 3 inches. He plucked the hat off of Riley's head and put it on right, then strapped it on correctly.

"Your helmet isn't even strapped," Riley pointed out with a smirk, causing Roark to fumble with the straps. "Let me fix that," Riley suggested, then leaned down a little and fixed it. He tried his hardest not to blush as Roark was staring right at him, but his cheeks were just too red for him not to notice.

"Is it too tight?" Roark asked, looking at Riley's face curiously.

"Nah..." Riley muttered, looking at Onix to distract his attention.

Roark jumped onto Onix's tail as the rock snake began burrowing down. "Come on Riley!" He exclaimed, grabbing Riley's wrist and pulling him on too.

Riley climbed onto Onix shakily, wrapping his arms around Roark's waist tightly and burying his face in his friend's back.

Roark felt a chill up his spine and his face burn. "Wha..." he wondered, holding onto Onix tighter. This feeling was completely new to the 8-year old. "Is this that feeling whenever you're growing up or something?" He wondered, then rolled his eyes as he thought about how his father would laugh at the boy's cluelessness. He bend his head slightly forward, looking at Riley's hands gripping each other.

Onix reached the Underground within a few minutes, leaving Riley feeling a bit dizzy as he loosened his grip on Roark and slid off.

"Thanks Onix, that was fun!" Roark chirped, then proceeded to a nearby wall, then pulled a pickaxe from his backpack and started chipping away at the wall. "Come on Riley, there's plenty of room down here!" He exclaimed, his eyes gleaming.

Riley set down his bag and pulled out his own pickaxe, then went to the wall opposite of where Roark was and started hitting at it.

"If you put that much pressure, the wall will break faster," Roark pointed out, appearing out of nowhere right beside Riley.

Riley's face went red. "It's hard to get these layers of rock off though..." he said, then Roark pulled the hammer from the backpack.

"These cover more space, but the wall will still crumble faster," he told Riley, patting him on the back with a smile.

Riley nodded and returned the smile, then set back to work under Roark's supervision for a minute.

"Looks good," Roark exclaimed as Riley unveiled a couple of items. "A Revive and a Hard Stone. Not bad at all," he said with a glimmer in his eyes. "I'd better go look for more things too!" He exclaimed, causing Riley to laugh a bit at his excitedness.

After what seemed like forever, Riley stopped hammering at the wall. "Riley, what is it?" Roark asked, coming over to look at what Riley had frozen at. There was a chunk of hardened brown stone sticking out of the wall. "...Be careful with that, and use the pickaxe now," Roark told him quietly, handing Riley the pickaxe.

Riley chipped away at the surrounding wall, sweat rolling down his face.

Roark emptied out his backpack and found a large white cloth. Perfect. He ran back over to Riley, who was holding the fossil.

"Ohhh..." Roark shook, a smile spreading across his face. "Riley, you found a fossil! Set it here!" Roark exclaimed, laying out the cloth and running back to get his bag.

The black-haired boy set the fossil carefully onto the cloth and wrapped it up delicately as to protect it. He picked it up and put it gently into Roark's bag when the boy returned, sighing.

"That...was so...AMAZING!" Roark exclaimed, his shout echoing a bit.

Riley jumped up a bit, then looked upon the cordovan-headed boy and saw that Roark's whole body was shivering in excitement. "You alright?" He asked with a laugh, standing up and picking up the bag.

"But a fossil! I've never even gotten one myself!" Roark exclaimed, then fell silent as Riley passed him the bag.

"Then this is for you!" Riley smiled, then grabbed Onix's Pokeball and brought the rock snake out so that they could get out.

"...thank you," Roark said quietly, much unlike himself.

~::~::~::~::~.ヒョウタ. .x. .ゲン.~::~::~::~::~

"I see you two disappeared! I was about to go send Onix for you, but then Onix was missing too! Geez," Byron let out a long sigh, ruffling Roark's hair.

"Dad! Look what Riley found!" Roark exclaimed, handing the fossil bag to Byron.

"It's his to keep, Leader," Riley added.

"Oh? Do my eyes deceive me? A genuine fossil," Byron's eyes glimmered in the same manner that Roark's eyes had when Riley hit the fossil.

"I think that this one's just perfect for recreating what was in it, actually. This is a Cranidos fossil!" Byron said, then jumped as Roark let out a thrilled scream.

"RILEY! You got me my first Cranidos! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Roark exclaimed, turning and tackling Riley to the ground.

Byron laughed as the boys scuffled to get up. "Come on, let's head back," he said, bringing out Staraptor and two Skarmory.

"Yeah!" Roark and Riley exclaimed, standing up at the same time.


	5. Chapter 5: Double Birth

**OMG I HAVEN'T UPDATED THIS IN FOREVER. /shot I'm on vacation, now I have time to do so. I'm not giving up on this, don't worry! I'm so sorry for not updating in so long! TwT;;**

**Characters don't belong to me. Otherwise Roark and Riley would really be together all the time.

* * *

**"Before we head to Hearthome, I just want to check up on the Gym again, and I think we can let the Scientists at the Museum look at the fossil, Roarkie," Byron said as he and the rest of the family had breakfast.

"So I can get a Cranidos? Awesome!" Roark exclaimed, beaming at the fossil that sat carefully inside of the cabinet across the room. "That'd be so cool...It'd be like the battle that we had at school, huh Riley?" he said, remembering the successful double battle against Gardenia and Lisa.

"Mhm," Riley nodded. "The egg's getting ready to hatch really soon too," he said, his smile easily giving away his excitement as well.

"Are you two finished?" Lena asked, raising an eyebrow at the unfinished food on the two boy's plates.

"Sorry Mom, I'm just so happy," Roark explained, swinging his legs from his chair.

"Kids will be kids," Byron laughed. "It's OK Lena, they'll be hungry at dinnertime," he said, smiling at his wife.

"Alright then. Both of you go get ready, I guess," Lena told the two boys, who immediately scampered off to get ready to go. "I haven't seen them this perked up in awhile. Especially Roark. I wonder what's gotten into that boy," she giggled.

"I think it's having a close friend like this that's made him more open. They get along great," Byron remarked.

~::~::~::~::~.ヒョウタ. .x. .ゲン.~::~::~::~::~

"Dad, why do we have to check on the Gym first?" Roark whined as Byron opened the doors to the Oreburgh Gym.

"It's part of the job, Roark," Byron sighed as he put the key back into his pocket and turned the lights on. "You two can wait here while I go look around a bit," Byron said as he continued along the perimeter of the battlefield.

"It'll be soon, don't worry," Riley assured Roark, who was still unhappy with the time.

"But I really want a Cranidos," Roark grumbled, crossing his arms and promptly sitting on the ground, making Riley laugh.

"You'll get it, stop being so hasty," the raven-haired boy said again, sitting by Roark, though not as roughly due to the egg that he held. "You know, I wonder which one'll come first," he commented.

"Huh?" Roark asked.

Riley looked at the egg. "See? It's starting to glow, that means that it'll hatch soon," Riley told Roark, and indeed, there was a faint glow emitting from the egg.

"I want to see it when it hatches," Roark murmured, fascinated by the glowing orb. "Since you're older, maybe it'll hatch first," he commented, then sat up promptly as Byron came back. "Dad, are you done?" He asked excitedly.

"Nope," Byron said, looking at Roark. Both of them were silent, then Byron laughed. "Just kidding! Come on, let's go," he said, shaking his head a little bit as Roark cheered with glee and stood up. "Here, hold onto it and be careful," he told Roark, handing the fossil, which was wrapped in a blanket, to his son.

"Haha...he won't run that way," Riley laughed, following Roark closely.

~::~::~::~::~.ヒョウタ. .x. .ゲン.~::~::~::~::~

"Oh, Leader!" The head scientist exclaimed as Byron entered the facility with the two boys on either side of him. "What can we do for you?" He asked.

"Roark here has a fossil," the man replied, patting Roark on the head a couple of times. "Is that machine you were talking about ready to test?" He asked.

"We've been running the tests, and I think we can successfully test it out now that we have a perfect fossil such as this," the scientist said, gazing at the fossil that Roark carried so carefully. He slipped some gloves on and carefully picked up the fossil, going to the machine and placing it in the middle before exiting it.

"I'm excited even though it's not even my Cranidos," Riley told Roark and Byron as he stood by them, clutching his egg.

"Make way, make way!" called a female voice, and Byron turned around with a disgruntled expression. "It's you," he said flatly to the reporter who was halfway running to the scene..

"Hey now, this is breaking news, we have to get this on camera!" The woman exclaimed, looking behind her to make sure that the cameraman wasn't far behind.

"Dad, who is she?" Roark asked, tilting his head.

"An old classmate of mine that was pretty annoying. She may be successful with her work, but still..." Byron muttered to Roark, getting hit on the head with a microphone in return.

"That's not nice, you know! Besides, I'm doing my job!" The reporter chirped, directing her cameraman towards the machine.

"Hey look Riley, it's starting!" Roark exclaimed, pulling Riley's attention to the scientist and his team working with a lot of complicated-looking buttons at the control panel.

"Initiating," called one of the team members as he pressed a fingerprint scanner. A few more of the scientests, as well as Riley, Roark, Byron, and the reporting duo watched intensely as the doors around the fossil shut closed.

"It looks like it'll take about an hour. I'd say it's a good idea to find a seat," said the lead scientest as he walked over, indicating some nearby chairs.

"Thank you sir," Roark chirped as he bounded over to the chairs, getting into one and swinging his legs again, followed by Riley who sat still because of the egg carefully being watched over.

"Since we have to wait for so long, what can we do?" Roark asked with a sigh, and Riley chuckled a bit to himself. "It would be cool if time could go faster so we could see what happens!" He said, staring longingly at the machine.

"Only those Legendary Pokemon can do that," Riley hummed, not looking up from the egg as it grew warmer.

~::~::~::~::~.ヒョウタ. .x. .ゲン.~::~::~::~::~

Roark impatiently watched the seconds go by on the clock, then looked at the machine. "Dad, is it almost done?" He asked, tugging on Byron's cape.

"It's almost there. Watch that timer over there, it's more accurate than the clock," Byron told his son with a smile, pointing at the screen which showed a linear green line getting progressively smaller.

"30 seconds," Riley said, startling Roark. The cordovan-haired boy looked at Riley: the boy holding the egg was seemingly mesmerized by the timer as well.

By this time, the reporting duo already had their equipment set up.

"And now, reporting live from Oreburgh Museum. The fossil-restoration equipment that has been recently completed is conducting its first test. The results should show up in about 20 seconds. If this succeeds, the possibility of reviving more fossils in the Sinnoh region will be increased significantly and will prevent the need to travel to other regions to revive fossilized Pokemon," she said.

"Huh. She's actually doing good," Byron said, noting the professionalism compared to her normal immaturity.

"10 seconds," Riley said, then set the egg down hurriedly as it began to glow brightly.

"Oh, and here it seems that an acquaintance of the fossil's owner is also expecting to meet someone new," the woman said, and the camera moved over to include Riley in the shot, soon also showing Roark kneeling down by the egg, fascinated with it as well.

"Restoration complete," a computerized voice announced.

"Go," Riley told Roark as the egg's glow became brighter, pushing Roark forward once the Gym Leader's son stood up. He turned his attention back to the egg, which was no longer an egg the moment he looked at it.

Roark, in the meantime, was now facing the blue and grey dinosaur-like Pokemon whose eyes locked with his.

"There has been a success! Now, like most fossilized Pokemon, it would naturally be hard to adjust to an environment that is unfamiliar, so the question still remains, how will Cranidos react?"

"Cranidos, it's OK, you can come over," Roark said, holding out his arms to Cranidos encouragingly.

The dinosaur only responded by backing a bit further into the pod, making Roark's face fall a bit.

"Shieldon!" Came a cry, and Roark looked beside him to see his father's prized Shieldon also looking at Cranidos.

"See? Nothing to be scared of," Roark said again, smiling at Cranidos and holding his arms out again, walking a little bit closer to the pod.

Cranidos was still insecure, poking its head out nervously.

"Riolu!" Came the cry of the young blue dog who was accompanied by Riley. "Come on, Cranidos," Riley called to it with a smile. "Come on over to Roark!"

"Everything's fine," Roark said again, replacing his crestfallen look with another smile.

"Third time's the charm," Byron said to himself with a small smile when Cranidos walked over to Roark and nuzzled the boy.


End file.
